On The Street Where You Live
by hyacinth beaver
Summary: He had often walked on that street before. The pavement had become so familiar. Every brick was unmistakeable. He walked there to tell her how he felt...but how do you say I love you?


**DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter is not mine...nor will it ever be! sniff sniff**

A young man had been walking in that same street for the past hour now. He loved being there on that street. He loved knowing that he was somehow near her. He seemed to come there every day, doing the same old thing.

He brought with him a bouquet of flowers in one hand. He would always pace around the same house for about half the time, as if contemplating on what he would do next.

One moment, it would seem like he was finally going to ring the doorbell, but in the quickest of flashes, he would shy away while cursing himself for his cowardice.

_  
_He would then go to the park across the street and sit on the same bench. He would sit there for hours immersing in deep thought.

He would look across the distance and his gaze would fall to the very house where his beloved reside.

'How am I ever going to tell her?'

_  
_Oh how he loved her. He loved the feeling he got in the pit of his stomach whenever he saw her. He loved the way she smiled at him whenever he did something stupid. He loved the way her tiny dimples came out whenever she laughed.

He adored her little habit of rolling her eyes whenever she was irritated. Even her thick bushy hair was endearing to him. He loved every aspect of her. He loved her for everything she was and wasn't.

'But how am I going to tell her?'

_  
_He didn't know how to tell her all that he felt. He was invisible to her, nothing more than a face in a sea of so many. There were so many things that he had wanted to tell her…so many things that he wanted to say. But there was that fear inside of him. It was the fear of rejection.

'Will she feel the same way?'

Then, suddenly, something out of the ordinary appeared. It was something that had never happened in all the times that he had visited that street. She came out.

_  
_She came out through her window and sat in the window sill. She had with her a thick book, a book that he had often seen her read during their younger years.

Yes, he used to watch her even then. He had enjoyed watching her dive her nose into her beloved books. She always seemed so happy and so content whenever she engrossed herself into them. He loved seeing her happy. It was all he ever wanted.

_  
_She looked up from her book and turned her eyes to the scene across the street. He watched as her gaze slowly drifted to where he was at that instant.

At the very next moment, her soft brown eyes befell his grey ones. He felt his mind race and his heart flutter. She was looking at him. She was staring at him and the thought of that made him immensely blissful.

She smiled at him.

How he loved that smile. That was the smile of his beloved, his cherished. It made his day knowing that that smile was directed at him.

That gave him the courage. It gave him the strength. He stood up and took careful and cautious strides towards her. He walked up to the door and looked up to see her face while she looked down on him.

"Hello." He quietly, but cheerfully said.

"Hello." She eagerly replied. "Wait a moment…I'll be right there."

And in that instant she was gone. He knew that she was going down the stairs to meet him at the front door.

He started to panic. What was he going to say to her?

In all the times he had walked down that street and paced in front of her door, he had never actually thought of anything to say. He didn't know what to do! He really didn't know!

He heard a sound from the other side of the door. It was the sound of somebody grabbing the door knob. The door swung open and she came out smiling at him.

"Hi there!" she greeted him.

"These are for you." He held out the flowers for her, and she gladly took them.

"Thank you." She inhaled deeply and took in the aromatic splendor of the lilacs he had just given her.

Even the way she said thank you made him happy. The fact was that anything she said would make him happy.

"Do you want to come inside?"

"No…I'd rather we talk out here." He nervously smiled at her.

"Alright." She softly laughed. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I know that we haven't been friends for a long time. Heck we haven't really been friends till recently." He laughed. "But I want you to know something." He looked deeply into her eyes and he didn't even have to think anymore. The words just came to him. "I love you Hermione. I don't care if you don't even feel the same way. I don't care if you tell me that you're seeing someone else. It doesn't even matter to me whether you feel the same way or not. All I want is for you to know how I feel. I want you to know that I love you and that nothing will ever change that."

She just stared at him and remained silent. Her beautiful russet eyes were blank and her mouth was slightly opened. It was no doubt at all that she was shocked. He would be too if someone he barely knew had just told him those things. All he could do was to wait. He just stared into her eyes just waiting for an answer.

The silence seemed to go on forever…even though it had only been for a few moments…and his heart had finally lost all hope. He sadly turned around and walked on the familiar pavement of the street where she lived.

He took one step at a time. He tried to console himself by reminding himself that he had already expected this response, or rather the lack of it. How could he ever expect Hermione to love him the way he loves her. It was just a fantasy, a wishful thought.

He had only taken a few steps when he heard a faint, but distinct sound. He knew that that sound had come from her lips, but he didn't know what she had said so he continued walking away from her.

"Wait!" now it was louder and clearer. He knew now that it was her trying to stop him from going any further. He would do anything for her so naturally, he stopped in his tracks and turned around to see that she was standing but a few steps from him and had tears in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he gently said as he wiped the silvery liquid from her eyes. Why was she crying? Was it something he had said? Had it upset her that much? Was his love really that unwanted? He wouldn't be able to bear it if he had anything to do with her unhappiness. All he wanted to was for her to be happy. If that meant being apart from her, then so be it.

She smiled. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that." And in a blink of an eye, she captured his lips in hers. She was kissing him. He had never felt happier.

"I love you too Draco." She lovingly whispered into his ear.

She didn't know that he had been waiting an eternity just to hear her finally utter those words.

He leaned into her and kissed her right there in the middle of the street, there was nowhere else on earth he'd rather be.


End file.
